Great cities dare to be great

Last week the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) announced that it would not be sponsoring a bid to bring the 2022 Winter Games to the United States. This brought an immediate reply of disappointment from California Lt. Governor Gavin Newson who was hoping Lake Tahoe would have been considered for those games. However, should the USOC decide to bid for the 2024 Summer Games, he offered up the cities of San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles as options.

This bit of news play should remind us of the huge benefits these major events do and can bring to our community. Past positive events in San Diego include Super Bowls, U.S. Open Golf, and the America’s Cup among many others. Our older generation might well remember in December 1978, Sports Illustrated had the foresight to proclaim San Diego: Sports Town, USA. Others have suggested that San Diego is the City of Life in view of our unlimited activities, many of which are outdoors.

So, back to the Olympics. I’ll first remind us all that in Chula Vista, we built for the USOC their only all-weather, year-around training facility. Next, I was the co-chair of an exploratory committee aiming to conduct a Bi-National Summer Olympics in the San Diego/Tijuana region for 2016. We worked for two and a half years (2004-2006) determining it would be feasible, both financially and physically, before we were eliminated by the USOC, due to complications for the International Olympic Committee to consider a dual-country sponsorship.

One might ask – why would hosting the Olympics be important to San Diego? Well there is an abundance of positive answers. First of all, the Olympics, without exception, is the granddaddy of all one-time events. Putting on a successful Olympics will internationally extend San Diego’s “can do” reputation. While we would be host venue, the United States would be the host country. In order to put our collective best foot forward, the host nation traditionally pours billions of dollars into the host city to improve, enlarge and build new public infrastructure of many types. This would be one of the main legacies San Diego would retain and use for many decades. Think of the tremendous pride San Diegans would acquire by helping to accomplish this fete. All of the above will greatly enhance our future ability to attract more jobs by enticing startup companies, branch office expansions, as well as moving headquarter companies to the greater San Diego region.

Now, the important question: How do we pull this off? First of all, we need to think and commit ourselves to a long-term effort. In studying the rotation of Olympic sites over many decades, there is a pattern of moving between the Americas, Europe and Asia. On this basis, I believe the most likely chance to bring the Olympics back to the U.S. would not be before 2028.

Next, we need to have a stand-alone organization committed to the single aim of bringing the Olympics to San Diego. Initially, this group should concentrate on developing an exploratory game plan tied to a realistic timeline. As this group successfully passes certain benchmarks, it would need to expand to include many other stakeholders. Obviously, our political, business and nonprofit communities need to buy in and do their share.

Well, it may just be that the correct group is already in place. It so happens that community leader Vince Mudd formed an organization this year called “32 for 2032.” This team of 32 young professionals care deeply about the future of our region and are willing to lean-in for the next 20 years to complete the vision of hosting the 2032 Games of the Olympics.

Pursuing the Games may be more impactful than actually hosting the Games since 20 years of growth and opportunity will pay even greater dividends than the one-time event. Like Brazil, suppose we could host the World Cup of Soccer as a buildup to the Games. And we could go after the International X Games, College Final Four in Basketball, more Super Bowls in NFL Football, and the Pan American Games. The list is almost endless.

As most everyone knows, the official Olympic symbol is five interlocking rings. You might say San Diego already has four of these rings: one of three main innovative clusters in the world; the greatest military establishment in the world; one of the world’s best tourist meccas; and the world’s best 365-day weather. So let’s add the fifth ring by bringing the Olympics to San Diego!

Dare to be great, San Diego!

Burnham is a San Diego native, entrepreneur, philanthropist and civic leader.